Box spring frame assembly



April 21, 1970 F. A. BIELAK 3,506,987

BOX SPRING FRAME ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 21, 1967 4 sheets-sheet 1 & I.

INVENTOR FRANK A. BIELAK ATTORNEYS April 21, 1970 F. A. BIELAK BOXSPRING FRAME ASSEMBLY 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 21. 1967 N wNBmINVENTOR FRANK A. BIELAK wan / ATTORNEYS F. A. BIELAK BOX SPRING FRAMEASSEMBLY April 21, 1970 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 21, 1967 INVENTQRFRANK A. BIELAK 7 ATTORNEYS April 21, 1970 F. A. BIELAK BOX SPRING FRAMEASSEMBLY 4 Sheets-Sheet '4 Filed Aug. 21. 1967 INVENTOR FRANK A. BIELAKATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,506,987 Patented Apr. 21, 19703,506,987 BOX SPRING FRAME ASSEMBLY Frank A. Bielak, Lexington, Ky.,assignor to Hoover Ball and Bearing Company, Saline, Mich., acorporation of Michigan Filed Aug. 21, 1967, Ser. No. 662,140 Int. Cl.A47c 19/00 US. Cl. -203 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A boxspring frame assembly consisting of four corner members and four railswhich can be of any desired length so as to form a frame of desired sizesuch as double bed size, king size, queen size, twin size, etc., andwherein the rails are of a shape in cross section to achieve a highstrength to weight ratio. The rails are shaped so that they can beformed of any desired structural material such as metal or plastic andform supports for the springs and for the internal spring supportmembers in the frame. Reinforcing bars can readily be attached to therails for converting to a heavy duty frame that can also function as theprimary bed support when legs are attached to the frame corner members,and two frames can be arranged side by side and connected by legsupports to form a king size box spring frame. Headboard mountingbrackets can be attached directly to an end rail when the frame is usedas a Hollywood bed. The rails are also shaped to provide for the uniqueattachment thereto of the usual box spring fabric cover.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The frame of this invention isparticularly adapted for supporting box spring assemblies of the typeshown in copending application Ser. No. 644,358 filed June 7, 1967 ownedby the assignee of this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Box spring frames are conventionally formedof 'wood. A number of wood pieces are nailed together so as to form agenerally rectangular frame having transverse cross supports. Coilsprings are suported on the cross supports and the frame, a padding isapplied over the coil springs, and a cover is placed over the paddingand nailed to the frame. The box spring is then supported either on aconventional bed frame or, in the case of a Hollywood bed, on a metalangle iron frame to which a headboard is attached. It is becomingincreasingly difficult to obtain low cost lumber of sufficiently highquality to form wooden box spring frames which will not either splitduring fabrication or fail in use. In any case, these wooden frames areseldom of sufficient strength to provide the primary bed support, suchas when legs are attached directly to the box spring frame. A box springframe assembly 'which can be manufactured from structural materials suchas metal and which can be adapted for use as the primary bed support isthus desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides a box spring frameassembly which is formed of a structural material such as metal orplastic and which consists of four corner members, side rails, and endrails which are secured, such as by welding, to the corner members. Therails are substantially straight structural members which can beprovided in any desired size to thus achieve any one of a number ofdesired box spring frame sizes. The rails are shaped so that theyprovide a high strength to weight ratio, thereby enabling manufacture ofbox spring assemblies of lighter than conventional weight but which alsohave the desired strength characteristics. Each rail has a section whichis of a substantially inverted U-shape in cross section, and auxiliaryreinforcing bars are provided which can readily be attached to the railsat the point of sale of the box spring so that at the time of purchase,a box spring assembly can readily be adapted to form the primary bedsupport. Each rail is provided with an integral flange on which theinternal spring support members are mounted and an integral attachingmeans for the box spring cover.

Extruded plastic strips are sewn to the box spring cover along the lowerperiphery thereof. These strips which are readily frictionallyinterlocked with the frame to quickly assemble the cover with the frame.The strips positively lock the cover to the frame and provide anti-noiseinsulation when the frame is mounted on a conventional bed frame. Thestrips also prevent wear of the cover material at the points whichcontact the bed frame and provide a clean cut appearance along the loweredge of the box spring.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an improved boxspring frame assembly.

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the following description, the appendedclaims, and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a box spring provided with the frame assemblyof this invention, the box spring cover and padding being removed, andportions of the frame being broken away for purposes of clarity;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the box springshown in FIG. 1, as seen from substantially the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 2A is a detail sectional view of one of the structural members inthe box spring frame assembly of this invention, as seen fromsubstantially the line 2A2A in FIG. 2;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of a portion of theframe assembly of this invention, as seen from substantially the line 33in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of a corner member inthe frame assembly of this invention, looking substantially along theline 5-5 in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 6 is a detail sectional view illustrating the assembly of the boxspring fabric cover with a cover attaching member, in the frame assemblyof this invention;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the frame assembly of thisinvention as seen from substantially the line 77 in FIG. 1, showing theattachment thereto of a headboard supporting bracket;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary plan 'view of a pair .of adjacent frames ofthis invention connected together;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary elevational view of the structure shown inFIG. 8; and

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modified form of railin the frame of this invention showing the assembly therewith of aspring in a box spring assembly.

With reference to the drawing, the box spring frame assembly of thisinvention, indicated generally at 10, is

illustrated in FIG. 1 as including a pair of side rails 12, a pair ofend rails 14, and four corner members 16, each of which is connected toand extended between the adjacent ends of adjacent rails 12 and 14. Therails 12 and 14 are identically shaped to facilitate production of therails, each rail including an inverted U-shaped section 18 (FIG. 2)provided with a substantially horizontal top surface and horizontallyspaced depending portions 22 and 24. The depending portions 22 and 24are disposed in substantially upright planes and function as stiffeningwebs to resist vertical deflection of the rails. The inner web 24 isprovided with an integral inwardly extending flange 26 having asubstantially horizontal top surface 28.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a structural member or beam is supported onand extended between the surfaces 28 on the end rails 14 at a positionsubstantially midway between the side rails 12. The beam 30 isillustrated as being of a sub tantially V shape in transverse section(FIG. 2A) having a top surface 32 which is in substantially horizontalalignment with the supporting surface 28 on the side rails 12, but it isto be understood that the beam 30 can be of other suitable shapes. Thepurpose of the beam 30 is to provide an intermediate support fortransversely extending internal spring support members 34 which aresecured to and extend between the surfaces 28 on the side rails 12. Asshown in FIG. 2, an internal spring support member 34 is integrallyformed with spring attaching projections 36 on which the internalsprings 38 in the box spring assembly, indicated generally at 40, aremounted. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rails 12 and 14 are also formedwith upwardly extending tabs 42 and tunnels 44 for attaching the mainsprings 46 in the assembly directly to the rails 12 and 14. It is to beunderstood that the support members 34 can also be formed of wood and alarger number than the illustrated four members 34 can be used in theevent it is desired to support opposite ends of the springs 38 ondifferent support members. 'It is also be understood that the frame 10can be adapted for the support of coil springs by providing suitablespring retainers on the frame 10.

It can thus be seen that the rails 12 and 14 are provided with the tabs42 and the tunnels 44 for attaching the box spring assembly 40 directlyto the rails without the requirement of any additional attaching means.It is to be understood that the tabs 42 and tunnels 44 are merelyillustrative of this means, there being other well known means forattaching the spring assembly 40 directly to the rails. In addition, theend rails 14 provide a support for the intermediate beam 30 on which theinternal spring support members 34 are supported intermediate theirends, the ends of the member 34 being supported on and secured to thesurfaces 28 on the side rails 12. The internal spring support members 34are shaped and provided with the attaching means 36 so that the internalsprings 38 in the assembly 40 can be mounted directly thereon withoutrequiring any additional attaching structure.

The corner members 16 are of right angle shape in plan view and are of ashape in transverse section similar to the shape of the rails 12 and 14.As shown in FIG. 5,

each corner member 16 has an inverted U-shape section 50 havingdepending portions or webs 52 and an inwardly extending flange 54 formedintegral with the lower end of the innermost portion 52. The flange 54has an opening 56 and a nut 58 i secured to the flange 54 in alignmentwith the opening 56. The purpose of the nut 58 is to provide attachingmeans on which a supporting leg 60 for the frame 10 can be mounted. Itcan thus be seen that by assembling the four legs 60 with the cornermembers 16, the frame 10 can be floor supported so that it can functionas the primary support for the bed of which the box spring 10 forms apart.

When the frame 10 is to function as the primary bed support, areinforcing bar 66 is secured to each of the rails 12 and 14 as shown inFIG. 2. Each rail 12 and 14 is formed in its top surface 20 withupwardly extending tubular projections 68, the projections 68 beingspaced apart in a direction longitudinally of the rail in each case. Thereinforcing bar 66 is of a generally U shape having upwardly extendinglegs 70 which preferably telescope within and frictionally engage thedepending webs 22 and 24 on the rail 12 or 14. Each reinforcing bar 66is of a length substantially equal to the length of the rail on which itis to be mounted and is attached to its rail 12 or 14, when reinforcingof that rail is desired, by extending self tapping screws 72 upwardlythrough openings 74 in the bar 66 and threading the screws 72 into thetubular projection 68 a shown in FIG. 2. The tubular projections 68provide for a long thread engagement of the screws 72 with the rail 12or 14 to provide for a secure mounting of the reinforcing bar 66 on therail at a relatively low cost.

Thus, in the event it is desired that the frame assembly 10 function asthe primary bed support, either at the time the frame assembly 10 ispurchased or at a subsequent time, the frame assembly 10 can readily beadapted for carrying the necessary loads by attaching the reinforcingbars 66 to the side rails 12 and the end rails 14 and mounting legs 60on the corner member 16.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer web 22 in each of the rail 12 and14 is provided with an integral depending hook-shaped extension whichturns inwardly of the frame 10. Each corner member 16 (FIG. 5) is formedwith a similar attached extension 80 on its outer depending web portion52. The purpose of the extension 80 is to provide a means for attachingthe fabric box spring cover, shown diagrammatically at 86 in FIG. 2, tothe frame 10. This is accomplished by securing a cover attaching member88, which is formed of a resilient plastic material such aspolyethylene, to the peripheral edge 90 of the cover 86 as shown in FIG.6. The attaching member 88 is preferably formed with a flange extension92 of reduced thickness and the edge 90 of the cover 86 is secured, suchas by stitching 94, to the innerside of the flange extension 92. Themember 88 has a hook shape body portion 96 shaped to frictionally engagewithin the hook shaped extension 80, as shown in FIG. 2, and a leg 98which is bent around and engaged with the outer side 100 of theextension 80.

At the juncture 102 of the extension 80 and the web 22, the extension 80is offset outwardly of the frame 10. As a result, the cover 86 is spacedfrom the frame 10 so that contact between the frame 10 and the cover 86is avoided to prevent any discoloration of the fabric cover 86 by ruston the frame 10. This avoids the necessity for coating the frame 10 witha costly rust inhibiter, an inexpensive conventional wax coating for theframe 10 being adequate.

As shown in FIG. 7, an end rail 14 is readily adapted to supportbrackets, such as the bracket shown at 130, on which a bed headboard 132can be mounted. A plurality of brackets would be used, each including agenerally C-shaped mounting section 134 having vertically spacedattaching legs 136 and 138. The upper leg 136 is positioned against therail top surface 20 and the leg 138 is positioned against the bottomside of the rail flange 26. A bolt or screw 104 is then extended throughthe legs 136 and 138 and the rail 14 so as to connect the bracket 130 tothe rail and clamp the rail between the legs 136 and 138. The bracket130 also includes a support section 142 which extends downwardly in aclearance relation with the rail extension 80 and then upwardly forattachment to the headboard 132. The brackets 130 can be attached to arail 14 with or without a reinforcing bar 66 thereon.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate the attachment of two frame assemblies. 10, oftwin bed size for example, to form a larger size frame, of king bed sizefor example. The two assemblies 10 are arranged side by side andbrackets 150, only one of which is shown, are used to connect theadjacent corners of adjacent frames. Each bracket has a generally'U-shaped center section 152 and end flange sections 154. The flanges154 are secured by screws 156 to the nuts 58 in the adjacent cornermembers 16 in the frame 10 so as to position the bracket center section152 in a clearance relation with the corner members 16. A framesupporting leg 158 is then attached to the bracket center section 152.The resulting composite frame assembly then has six supporting legs likethe leg 158.

In FIG. 10, an extruded rail 110 i shown which can be used in place ofthe rails 12 and 14 previously described. The extruded rail 110 is ofone piece construction corresponding substantially in cross sectionalshaped to the previously described shapes of the rails 12 and 14. Therail 110 has supporting surfaces 20 and 28 corresponding to the surfacespreviously described, and in addition is provided with an inwardlyfacing channel section 112 disposed above the surface 20 to facilitatethe attachment of main box springs, such as the one shown at 114, to therail 110. The rail 110 is also formed with a plurality of downwardlyextending openings 116, only one of which is shown, into which thedownwardly extending prong or end section 118- on the spring 114 can beextended. The spring 114 is readily assembled with the rail 110 bydisposing a conventional torsion bar end section 120 on the spring 114in the channel section 112 and extending the prong 118 through theopening 116. The rail 110 can also be provided with the tubularprojection 68 shown in FIG. 2 to facilitate the attachment thereto ofthe reinforcing bars 66.

In use, the frame assembly is fabricated as shown but without thereinforcing bars 66. The cover 86 is attached by manually moving thebody portion 96 on the attaching member 88 into the hook shape railextension 80 as shown in FIG. 2. In the event it is desired to use theframe 10 as the principal bed support, the legs 60 are assembled withthe corner member 16 as shown in FIG. 5, and the reinforcing bars 66 areattached to the rails 12 and 14 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The bars 66,by virtue of their U-shape in cross section are of light weight but havesuificient strength in lateral bending to reinforce the frame 12 to theextent necessary to withstand the normal bed loads.

From the above description it is Seen that this invention provides a boxspring frame assembly 10 which is readily formed from metal orequivalent material and which has a high strength to weight ratio. Byvirtue of the support surfaces and 28 on each frame rail, the internalframe members 30 and 34 and the box spring assembly 40 are readilymounted on the rails thus reducing box spring assembly time. Thehook-shape extensions 80 provided on the rails facilitate the finalassembly of the box spring cover 86 with the frame 10 without requiringany additional attaching structure. Frames of various sizes can beconstructed by providing ends rails 12 and side rails 14 of thenecessary lengths and two twin size frames can be secured by connectingbrackets 150 (FIGS. 8 and 9) extended between the mounting nuts 58 onthe corner members 16 for adjacent frames. Thus considerable versatilityis achieved in the frame 10 of this invention. A retailer of box springsequipped with the frame assembly 10 of this invention can readilystrengthen the box spring frame 10 by adding the reinforcing bars 66 soas to adapt the frame 10 for floor mounting rather than on the bedframe.

It will be understood that the box spring frame assembly which is hereindisclosed and described is presented for purposes of explanation andillustration and is not intended to indicate limits of the invention,the scope of which is defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

' 1. A generally rectangular box spring frame assembly 2 comprising apair of substantially parallel side rails, a pair of substantiallyparallel end rails, corner members secured to and constituting the soleconnection between the adjacent ends of adjacent side and end rails,each of said rails and each of said corner members being shaped so thatit has at least one substantially upright load resisting web, each ofsaid rails being shaped so that it also has a spring supporting surface,and internal spring support members supported on and extending betweensaid side rails.

2. A box spring frame assembly according to claim 1 wherein each of saidrails includes a section of a substantially inverted U-shape in crosssection having a substantially horizontal portion which forms saidspring supporting surface and spaced depending portions one of whichconstitutes said web.

3. A box spring frame assembly according to claim 1 further includingmeans on said corner members for attaching supporting legs to saidframe.

4. A box spring frame assembly according to claim 1 further includingmeans on said rails for attaching springs thereto.

5. A box spring frame assembly according to claim 2 further includingreinforcing bars for said rails, each of said reinforcing bars beingdisposed between the spaced depending portions on a rail and beingsecured to said rail.

6. A box spring frame assembly according to claim 2 wherein each of saidside rails has a second supporting surface on which said internal springsupport members are mounted, said second supporting surface on each siderail being formed integral with the lower end of one of said dependingportions and extending inwardly of said frame.

7. A box spring frame assembly according to claim 6 wherein the innerone of said depending portions has an inwardly extending flange formingsaid second supporting surface, the outer one of said depending portionis provided with integral means for attaching a spring cover to saidframe and each of said rails is of one-piece construction.

8. A box spring frame assembly according to claim 6 further including abrace secured to and extending between said end rails intermediate theends thereof and having a top surface disposed substantially inalignment with said second supporting surfaces on said side rails andarranged in supporting engagement with said internal spring supportmembers intermediate the ends thereof.

9. A box spring frame assembly according to claim 5 wherein thesubstantially horizontal portion of each of said rails is formed withspaced upwardly extending tubular projections and each of saidreinforcing bars is of a substantially U-shape in cross section, andbolt means extending through said bars and threadably engaged with saidprojections.

10. A box spring frame assembly according to claim 3 further including apair of brackets for connecting the adjacent corner members in a pair ofside-by-side frame assemblies, each of said brackets including means formounting a supporting leg thereon.

11. A box spring frame assembly according to claim 3 further includingbracket means attached to one of said end rails for mounting a headboardthereon, said bracket means including a mounting section attached tosaid horizontal portion of said one end rail and a support section whichextends downwardly and then upwardly from said mounting section in aclearance relation with said one end rail.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 5351.3; 297-218

